Opening night of the new season with the Scottish Symphony Orchestra featuring Mahler’s 4th Symphony. Exhilarating to the senses. The word mental came up a few times. 😂
What’s your favourite composer and symphony/concerto?
I love Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto no. 2.
@hollyhoneychurch Mahler is my favorite composer, one benefit of my Oberlin College years. My then girl friend gave me an LP of Das Lied von der Erde. Eventually Mahler 3rd became my favorite. Later twas the 9th. Finally became the 2nd, when it saved me, after the passing of a beloved friend.
@hollyhoneychurch The night I first attended a performance of Mahler's Ninth, I was so inspired that I wrote a long email about it that night, which I later published and was very well received, nearly 30 years ago! It basically got me started with blogging.
@hollyhoneychurch fellow Shostakovich piano fan over here! though I wouldn’t say that’s my favorite . . . hmm, Rach 3 and Prokofiev 3 are pretty strong contenders!
@hollyhoneychurch also if you don’t know this one already, you might like Poulenc’s concerto for two pianos (D minor). Most of it’s pretty cheeky and fun, but then there are a few moments that are so hauntingly beautiful! (Favorite recording: Katia and Marielle Labèque with the Boston Symphony)
@hollyhoneychurch nothing quite like the power of a symphony. Those are great choices and it’s hard to pick a favorite but one single piece I love is the flower duet in Lakme by Delibes. Also Philip Glass, 1000 Airplanes on the Roof.
@hollyhoneychurch I'm partial to Richard Strauss's oboe concerto. (Hesitating to declare it favorite because I am probably forgetting something... I have stronger opinions about operas and choral works.)
@rickcogley Thanks. Excited to listen to both of these. I remember as a child the word Lakme was said by adults in a swoony kind of way. Looking forward to hearing it.. Love Philip Glass, have not heard this one though.
@Ron That's beautiful Ron. I will read! Such a cool story with you and Mahler. I'm so glad you found strength within the melodies during hard times. That's what music is all about 💓
@JohnBrady this excites me. I do love the vibe of Philip Glass and both big 'B' names remind me of nice moments of playing during my orchestral days as a kiddo. Looking forward to listening!
@jean What a big intro! I still have it in my head after playing it earlier 😃🌼😚Nice choice Jean. Tchaikovsky rocks the romance. Sentimental because...? 😃
@hollyhoneychurch Yes, it is. I have often been inspired by the sounds of Mahler.
When I was in college, Mahler was rarely performed, but something changed and we started hearing him performed a lot and it made audiences very happy, certainly including me!
@hollyhoneychurch My father had the famous Van Cliburn recording. Cliburn was the winner of the inaugural Tchaikovsky piano competition in Moscow in 1958. My father taught Russian, which he learned in the Army, and even studied in the USSR in 1963, so they had that Cold War boundary crossing in common. I discovered the album in his collection when I was a teenager and the romantic themes suited me then. Those first piano chords always get me.
@jean @hollyhoneychurch The Tchaik 1 and Rach 2 are probably my favorite symphonies. I feel like I’ve mentioned this here before, but when I was in grad school, I directed the youth choir at the church where Cliburn was a member. He had recently donated funds to the church for a world class pipe organ which would be named in memory of his mother, a well-known music teacher in her own right. He was reclusive in his later years likely because his sexuality was, even then, fodder for gossip and microscopic dissection.
@hollyhoneychurch haha sorry if I leapt at the chance a little too eagerly . . . pretty rare that I get to swap orchestral recommendations these days!
@gdp That’s fascinating. He was an amazing virtuoso and an ambassador for cultural understanding. Texas should be proud.
@hollyhoneychurch I look forward to reading your comments after you've read my Sounds of Silence piece. Have you ever had your own experience of silence?
@Ron Hey Ron. Loved your piece of writing. It brought a smile to my face. It was lovely to hear how energised and elated you were afterwards. A memorable experience for you. And everyone. Great to know why the 2nd violins are opposite the 1st too - I hadn't experienced that layout before.
I'm forever in search of the silence just after the music has stopped. I love what Mahler does at the end of his movements (with how soft the instruments become). And I think the conductor should absolutely conduct the silence and not put his arms down for the eager audience claps. More pause! In all parts of life!!!
To experience the beauty and sacredness of silence. Just imagine if that silence went on even longer! I have experienced this at concerts over the years and it's truly healing to be left with the music rather than the clapping. I also really enjoy clapping as a celebration ha! The physical act of clapping is energising. But I appreciate the silence more. We can become one with that wonderful silence. It's so nourishing. It treats the music as celestial and heavenly rather than with any ego. When I play my pieces, the last thing I want is to be clapped. If I leave people with a gentle tear in their eye, I've done my job 😃
@jean That's wonderful. I will listen to that recording. Thanks Jean. Such an amazing, beautiful language and really cool that your family has the language love and connection. I seem to favour the Russian composers I've just realised : )
@hollyhoneychurch Thanks so much for your appreciation of the silence, Holly! You really get it.
That was a really great experience for me, one of many transcendant experiences I've had the good fortune of enjoying in my life. I chose the college I went to based upon the excellence of its music on campus, rather than any particular scholarly course of study. That turned out to be a good decision for me. My four years on that campus brought me many life changing experiences and a lifetime of great music from great composers (Mahler, Stravinsky, Copeland) as well as contact with a huge variety of excellent musicians (Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copeland, Artur Rubinstein, and the great mezzo-soprano Joy Blackett, who was one of my classmates, and became a star during the Spring 1964 Oberlin College Choir tour of Russia) as well as many decades of wonderful times with those in the Bob Dylan community. Music people tend to be great people in my mind.
@hollyhoneychurch In 1964 the US State Dept used gorgeous chorale music to win over the hearts of the Russian people. I wish they could have done more of that. The story of the tour was told in the pages of the Oberlin Alumni Magazine, as well as in a film on Vimeo. www2.oberlin.edu/alummag/s...
And the incredible performance of Joy Blackett's singing is still preserved on the Internet. It was also one of the tracks on the LP released by the Choir upon their return to campus. www.youtube.com/watch The artwork on that LP was the same as the promotional poster they used throughout Russia to publicize their concerts. (See image #7 in the Oberlin Alumni Magazine article above.)
